Uninitiated
by Rhabdophis
Summary: Pandora was no place for anyone who had been given the privilege of a life devoid of hardship, and they would be reminded of it every step of the way. Maya and Gaige centric.
1. Pasty Cake

Title - Uninitiated  
Disclaimer - Borderlands and its characters are the property of Gearbox. I'm only borrowing them for entertainment.  
Setting - AU. In this version neither Gaige or Krieg made it to the train in time.  
Warnings - Violence  
A/N - I'm in the process of shaking off the last remnants of a lengthy writer's block, so this is the first story I've attempted in a while.

* * *

**Ch.1 Pasty Cake**

It should not have been a surprise that her abrupt departure to a place like Pandora would lead her even further away from her comfort zone, but Gaige wasn't aware she'd developed one before the incident with Marcy that set off those life-altering chain of events. Most teenagers believe themselves to be invincible. She obsessed over how corrupt society was back on Eden-5 without fully realizing just how much she relied on it to shelter her. This wasn't the world she was used to.

Her father was a resourceful man, but even he had his limits to how many miracles he could pull off on short notice. The only ticket he had managed to get was a last minute board onto a cargo ship, and Pandora had not originally been on their list of destinations. It must have taken some convincing for them to willingly travel to a planet so many people thought of as being cursed. Due to time constraints and the rising costs of fuel they chose efficiency over her request to be left closer to her target location. All of her complaints had fallen on deaf ears until they finally grew tired of her attitude and threatened to bypass Pandora all together.

Presently she was in some uninhabitable place appropriately named Dead Sands. Oven-like air, sand and sparse vegetation went on for miles in every direction. This particular section of it was so off the beaten path that they hadn't deemed it important enough to build a Fast Travel station there. Walking through a desert was not something she was looking forward to.

Gaige squinted out at the bleak surroundings while she stood with one hand over her mouth in an attempt to keep the dust from irritating her sinuses. Just outside the empty station was a small town that consisted of five buildings which were all in desperate need of maintenance. Only one other person was to be seen, a middle-aged man slouched over in a lawn chair that was perched on the roof of a building at the far end of the street. A ratty blue canopy shaded him from the harsh sun. She wondered if he was the only person left there, or if the rest of them were cooped up inside their homes. Not that she could blame them, the dry heat was hard to ignore.

While doing another visual sweep of the area she spotted two vending machines off to the far left. One was leaning slightly, propped up on the dirty wall behind it while the other was completely on its back with an enormous dent near the bottom right. Gaige took one last glance at the strange man before hurrying over to the other side of the street.

When she was close enough to make out some details she saw a caricature of a grenade sporting arms and legs and "Marcus Munitions, inc." printed across the top. It seemed operational so she pressed her hand to the glowing square and activated the interface.

"Ammo in a vending machine?" she thought out loud to herself while browsing its selection. It certainly was convenient and considering the reputation Pandora had she figured stocking up would be a good idea. "Awesome, they sell grenades! Three for ninety-eight bucks... Hmm. Probably a ripoff, but I guess beggars can't be choosers."

Reaching for the backpack hanging from her shoulder she searched inside its contents until managing to locate the roll of bills her father had given her. In her rush to escape her home world she hadn't bothered to count it all until now. Sliding off the rubber band with an audible snap she unfolded the money and gave a low whistle.

_How'd you manage to scrounge up this much, dad?_ She thought as she fingered through a few hundred dollar bills and several twenties. There was at least six hundred there. Grinning, she pulled out a bill and deposited it into the vendor, then selected the grenade option. Three of them would be enough for now. Even if there were lowlifes on Pandora it wasn't as if there'd be hordes of them pursuing her every inch of the way.

Just as she was removing her purchase from the vending slot there was a rumbling in the distance that echoed around the buildings. After placing the grenades in a pouch on her utility belt she paused to listen. She recognized the sound as being mechanical, probably an engine. Some inhabitants of the town returning home, perhaps? Maybe, but just in case the teen looked around for any sort of cover. Just on the other side of the vending machines a shoddy fence linked two of the buildings together. A large piece of wood had come loose near the bottom and Gaige knocked it aside then crawled underneath. The alley just beyond was lined with boxes and an ugly old couch. There was a fence on the other end as well, but it was nothing except a single metal pole and a few pieces of rusted wire now. A possible escape route if things turned ugly.

Soon two vehicles raced into the deserted town, sending up clouds of dust. Loud yells, maniacal laughter and gun fire filled the air while Gaige peered through a hole in the rusted metal section of the fence. The bandits of Pandora were certainly easy to spot. Unless the 'masked and shirtless' look was all the rage for the rest of the population Gaige figured these were indeed the convicts formerly used as cheap labor by Dahl. Apparently since gaining freedom their pastime of choice was to drive donuts around ghosts towns while wasting a lot of ammo.

How nice that the perfect opportunity to test how Deathtrap would fair against a bunch of armed degenerates would present itself so early on. Gaige smirked, flexing her artificial limb in anticipation. She was confident her beloved creation would reduce them to meat pies, but she decided to start the party with an appetizer. No sense in letting her robot hog all the fun; it couldn't even appreciate it. Reaching into her utility pouch she wrapped her fingers around one grenade and took a few steps back from the fence.

Gaige pulled the pin and flung her arm overhead in a wide arch. By some stroke of sheer luck the grenade bounced off the hood of the first vehicle, flew over the windshield and landed neatly in the floorboard of the second vehicle by the driver's feet. The more perceptive bandits quickly jumped out and ran for cover. One even opened the lid on a large green dumpster and dove inside. A heartbeat or so later the truck exploded just as it sped out of her view. Hunks of flaming shrapnel and charred body parts were sent flying every which way. Gaige was mesmerized that she'd been the cause of such glorious mayhem and felt her ego inflate just a tad at the sight of it.

Angry cursing and death threats snapped her back to reality, however, as the driver of the remaining truck slammed on the breaks to avoid colliding with the smoldering remains. A glowing blue light appeared near her as Deathtrap digistructed itself on her command. The machine floated over the fence with ease and made a bee line to the nearest target, a masked bandit who rushed mindlessly to his doom. Blood spattered out of the psycho as Deathtrap raked both claws down the front of his bare chest. The psycho collapsed onto the street, bright red liquid already pooling around his ruined torso. All eyes were now focused on her creation as the remaining bandits furiously pelted it with rounds. They ricocheted harmlessly off its metal hide in a shower of sparks as it dispatched two more bandits in a manner as equally gruesome as the first. Excitement bubbled in the pit of her stomach until she could no longer contain it.

"Third place, my ass! Screw you, Marcy!" She yelled triumphantly, but regretted it immediately as it caught the attention of the bandits closest to her.

Deathtrap wasn't programmed to prioritize targets so she was on her own as three of them broke off from the group and ran towards the fence, firing as they went. Gaige spun around and bounded over the couch, hoping to make it around to the back of the building before they managed to catch up to her. If she could stay out of reach for long enough Deathtrap would get to them eventually. She spared a glance over her shoulder to see if they were gaining.

"Come to me, my pasty cake!" yelled a voice from in front of her a second after she turned her head. A blur of skin and orange cloth came into view. The child prodigy skid to a halt and raised her mechanical arm in time to block the serrated axe blade that would have hit her square in the chest. He quickly followed with two more hits, forcing her arm lower each time. Then her attacker yanked his weapon back and raised it for another swing. Gaige lifted her arm again, but it seemed as though she were moving in slow motion. The psycho seemed to change his mind at the last second, instead lashing out with a closed fist that struck her solidly in the jaw. It snapped her head to one side and the momentum carried her into the dingy wall. Colored spots appeared in her vision as she slid to the ground.

"Don't kill her." A far away voice called out just before she lost consciousness. "We're not finished with the little pest."

* * *

Far to the south another female Vault Hunter was having an unfortunately similar day. In the middle of a frigid wasteland Maya lay inside a wrecked train car and stared at the snow storm raging outside. Her memory of the accident was fragmented, the shock of it still clinging to her, making her thoughts hazy and her limbs feel weighted down.

After discovering the front car was stacked high with enough dynamite to level a building to its foundation Maya's brain had switched to auto-pilot from then on. In the next few minutes there had been a frenzy of movement, then a deafening roar accompanied by a wave of blistering heat. She had a vague recollection of the wind getting knocked out of her, and the sensation of being air born though she wasn't certain as to the correct order those two memories went in. It didn't matter now, since she was probably going to die here.

A large spot of darkness appeared in her field of vision just then, stark against the swirling white. At first she thought her eyes were starting to fail but then recognized it to be the outline of a person leaning over a hole ripped in the side of the train car. Whoever it was spoke but her jumbled mind was unable to process the words.

The figure left her sights and moments later there was a motion beside her. A cold, sharp object pierced her upper arm and Maya blinked rapidly as the fog in her mind began to slowly recede. She stared up at her own shocked expression, features pale and drawn, reflected back in the shiny face-plate of a helmet. It was the quiet one who seemed to prefer speaking in verses of poetry rather than sentences. Of the three other passengers traveling along with her this was not who she expected to be kneeling there with an empty health vial in his hand. When a minute or so had gone by and the siren had yet to move a glowing red question mark appeared on his mask.

"I'm fine." She said, looking away in embarrassment before rolling over and rising to her feet. "Let's get out of here."

The concoction in the vial did its job; she definitely felt renewed. Zero stood to his full height in one fluid motion. Aside from a few small tears in his suit he appeared to be completely unharmed. Either he had avoided taking damage by skill alone, or his attire provided more uses than just concealing his identity. Maya convinced herself it was the latter as he leaped out of the train car with ease. Her exit wasn't half as graceful, hoisting herself out with hands and elbows.

"Oh my god." She whispered in horror once she got a good look at their surroundings. Stretched out before her on the frozen landscape were endless piles of scrap metal, deactivated robots and... corpses. Dozens, maybe hundreds, abandoned to the elements. Never in her life had she come face to face with so much death. That man, Handsome Jack, had lured her into a trap that she really should have seen coming. Had the desire to learn more about her origins clouded her judgement that badly?

"Oi! You found her, amigo?" an accented voice called out to them. Several yards away the short man, Salvador, was using his sturdy frame to support the limping ex-soldier, Axton, as they walked. The siren jumped down from the train car and hurried over to her fellow survivors. Both looked worse for wear, but they were alive and moving. Surprisingly, the Truxican had the greater amount of superficial wounds between the two, but it was the taller man who winced whenever his raised foot brushed against some debris in the snow.

"Glad to see you're in one piece." The commando grinned at Maya. "I wasn't sure what happened after I blacked out so I asked Zero here to take the Insta-Health Vial in case you were in worse shape than me."

Maya frowned, eying the raw scrape on his chin. "That was the only one you had?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, you don't owe me anything for it." Axton's grin widened and he winked at her.

"Thank you." Her tone sounded uncertain, curious as to why this man she had met less than a day ago would choose to remain injured for her sake. Was he the self-sacrificing type? No, everyone had an ulterior motive; Brother Sophis had taught her that.

Axton opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a shrill, mechanical voice.

"Hey, there's more of you! Fantastic!" A yellow robot, shaped similarly to an exclamation point, rolled across the snow and stopped in front of them, both metal arms held up as though it were cheering.

"Bah, it's back again." The Pandoran native grumbled.

Three heads turned to him in question.

"It was there when I came to, but it wouldn't shut up so I kicked it away." Salvador explained. He then shrugged and added, "I had a really bad headache."

"I'll have no trouble getting to Sanctuary now with so many Vault Hunters to protect me! Please wait while I locate more ECHO devices!" The robot began to dig through the piles of debris nearby.

Maya watched it with a frown. "Sanctuary?"

She looked to each of them, but received nothing but blank stares and head shakes in return. Soon Claptrap returned and handed out the ECHO devices while babbling about revenge, bandits and bellybuttons. Eventually she tuned the chatter out as the a last bits of shock faded. Now that the CEO of Hyperion had revealed his true intentions in such an unnecessarily flashy manner, did it mean her search was over? And what of her traveling companions? Pursuing the Vault may not have held the same meaning to them as it did to her. As far as she could tell they were all in it for glory rather than answers. She wanted to ask them if they'd changed their minds, but the chance that their answers would be "yes" held her back.

It was Zero who spoke first.

"This is not defeat/ He has failed to deter me/ The Vault still awaits." The assassin then pointed to the Claptrap unit who was speeding away towards a mass of ice looming in the distance, completely unaware that they weren't following.

Maya thought it was as good a suggestion as any. "I agree. Since we obviously can't stay here, we may as well catch up to the robot and see what it wants."

Offering her shoulder for Axton to lean on, she and Salvador trudged off through the snow with Zero trailing a few steps behind.

As they walked one question lingered in the back of her mind.

_What have I gotten myself into?_


	2. Troublemaker

A/N - Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed the last chapter.  
Also, I am aware that both Gaige and Krieg were supposed to be on the train during the explosion. All the player characters have to go through the same story in-game, yeah, but since this is fanfiction I can deviate from game mechanics just a little. More fun that way.

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Ch.2 Troublemaker

Although Gaige was no stranger to discomfort, having amputated her own arm in the past, the dry burn of her empty stomach was almost maddening. She remembered skipping lunch every so often when becoming engrossed in her projects to the point that she'd forget to eat, but never had she endured nearly fifty hours without food. A day on Pandora lasted ninety. She did not want to learn first hand what ninety hours without food felt like. However, it couldn't hold a candle to the humiliation she was currently being subjected to.

Crude ropes suspended her high above the ground on the side of a narrow canyon. The tall orange-tinted cliffs provided decent enough shade from the sun. At the very bottom was a stream of clear water that sparkled like crystal. Gaige didn't know how many miles this natural wonder spread across, but from her position there was no exit to be seen.

Scenic as it was the canyon served as the stronghold to the very same bandit gang that she attacked with impunity the day she had arrived on Pandora. Instead of killing her their leader had ordered she be taken prisoner. A quick death hadn't been enough of an equal trade in his eyes. Regardless of how much she screamed, cursed and threatened, all she received from them in return was mockery. Dealing with Marcy's petty attitude had been a breeze in comparison. It made her wish the pain in the ass was still alive.

A few feet below her was a walkway, one of many that spanned the length of the canyon. Every so often a bandit would wander by and jeer at her, or make obscene faces if they were one of the few not wearing a mask. In the beginning they would also take pot-shots, laughing as she twisted in her bonds in attempt to avoid being hit. Their leader rid them of any further desire to do so by killing a particularly large brute and then hanging his bullet-ridden carcass ten feet from her to serve as a reminder. The teen had spent many hours watching the blood drip down to the canyon floor. Another example of Pandora's generous hospitality that Gaige wouldn't soon forget.

Escape was not an option since her cybernetic arm was damaged when deflecting the blow from the psycho's axe, making Deathtrap inaccessible for the time being. However that was not the only obstacle in between her and freedom. Gaige wasn't certain of the exact number, but she estimated there had to be at least a hundred bandits living there. A hundred bandits with weapons that she would need to get past while unarmed and defenseless, since they had confiscated both her backpack and utility belt. Though even if she did manage to escape Gaige had no idea how far they had taken her from the station.

_Sorry, dad. Looks like I'm not going to be calling home like I promised. _She thought.

Karma was definitely collecting a debt right now, but an error must have occurred in the flow of the universe because this was not hers to pay. It had been an accident. A stupid mistake. Being helpless and surrounded by certifiable perverts and common thugs was not an equal trade.

"I can hear with my teeth!" A psycho suddenly yelled out below her.

"Shut up!" She snarled back in a hoarse voice. Much to her dismay this prompted a barrage of cat-calls from all sides.

"Wha's a matter, baby?"

"We can put a smile on your face!"

"Ask mommy to let you come play with us!"

"Assholes." Gaige muttered between clenched teeth as more of them joined in the chorus.

A single shot reverberated through the canyon and the voices cut off in unison as though a switch had been flipped. All of her aches and pains were washed away under a flood of adrenaline. Footsteps sounded nearby, rising in volume as they came closer. Gaige refused to look at the source of said footsteps, concentrating hard on the walkway instead. A fine tremble started from her shoulders and made its way down until even her toes were twitching. When his scuffed boots came into view her eyes betrayed her, following his leather-clad form up to his face almost involuntarily. Gaige focused on the double-barrel shotgun resting over a shoulder of the criminal known as Skag-Bite Nate.

"You just had to get them riled up again, hm? Troublemaker." The bandit leader's tone had a chiding and yet slightly amused edge to it, like he was scolding a favored niece instead of a prisoner. His accent sounded similar to the voice recording she'd heard in the ammo vending machine.

If she had known this was the same man sitting on that roof near the station, Gaige would have stayed hidden and left those damned bandits alone. Not that Nate was a physically imposing figure. Average height and more lean than muscular, he would have fit the bill of 'pretty boy' if not for the scars. What she had assumed from a distance to be wrinkles were actually long gouges on both sides of his face, leading her to believe the "Bite" present in his nickname wasn't exclusively a reference to his personality. Leave it to the bandits to be so literal.

"So sorry to interrupt your private time, but one of the former Crimson Lance who joined my gang brought me something very interesting today. Illuminating even." Nate paused to carefully lean his shotgun against the Dahl storage crate in front of him before continuing. "You remember how unconvinced I was that an outsider like yourself, who had no connection to the corporations or the Vault, would ever come here. Well..."

He reached behind his back and brought out a folded sheet of paper. As she watched he opened it to reveal a wanted poster, holding it up so she could clearly see who it was that had a price on their head. Gaige frowned at the black and white reprint of her most recent school photograph. Lower on the poster was a ridiculously large number in bold print.

_Eight hundred and twenty... billion? _She thought and her jaw dropped before she could stop herself.

"This is one of the highest bounties I've ever heard of on this world. You pissed off someone with a lot of money to throw around, kiddo. I'll bet you know who because with an amount like this it _has_ to be personal."

Gaige pressed her lips together in a thin line. Marcy's father. The rich bastard had certainly wasted no time at all in branding her a cold-blooded killer. Of course he never stopped to consider that it might have been his precious daughter who was the sociopath.

Nate smirked at her reaction. "Thought so." He set the wanted poster down on the crate. "It'd be nice to have that money, but even if I handed you over they'd never give the reward to an outlaw like me. I'd get cheated and who would there be to complain to about it, Hyperion?"

There was no reply Gaige could think of, so she waited quietly for him to keep talking.

"My bounty was seventy-five million before I was caught. Granted, I'm only a bandit now and not worth much to authorities. No bounty hunter is going to bother traveling all the way to this armpit of a planet for mere pocket change." Skag-Bite leaned closer, an unsettling smile spreading across his scarred face. "But you... oh, for you they'll make an exception. For eight hundred and twenty billion they'll come in droves. You will never know peace again."

She wanted to believe he was exaggerating. Or that the entire thing was a sick joke he fabricated to scare her. It was difficult to accept that her current situation could have possibly gotten any worse. Despite the shade of the canyon she felt her face grow hot and her eyes begin to sting. The air swam around her, blurring as moisture gathered at the corners of her vision.

_No, I wont panic. That's just pathetic._ Determined to keep a single tear from falling she forced her lids to remain open.

"So, I'm letting you go."

"Wha-what?" Gaige stuttered in confusion. "Why?"

He sighed and shook his head. "After learning of that bounty I want nothing more to do with you. The last thing I need are the dangerous ones showing up on my doorstep to cause more trouble. I took the liberty of collecting your things from those who had them so there is no trace of you left in my base. Leave and never return here."

Nate stepped forward and leaned over the railing. "Lower her down!" He called to his men below.

Gaige's breath hitched when the rope gave a jerk and dropped a few inches. The pulley system it was twisted around squeaked and began to rotate. Each second seemed to crawl by as she descended to the canyon floor. Nate was waiting there at the bottom as she was unceremoniously dumped onto the rough ground. Bandits wandered over until they were spread out around her in a half-circle, watching her with the same interest a cat gives a caged bird. Ironic how their leader now served as the bars that separated her from a horrible end at their hands, since not long ago he'd been planning for her to die by starvation.

Pulling a thin knife out of his boot he reached down to slice the ropes that bound her then moved away. Being freed of her constraints wasn't the relief she'd thought it would be. Her flesh and blood arm had not approved of being stuck in such an uncomfortable position for so long. Circulation returned in a prickling rush followed by a sharp pain in her shoulder blades. Still, she ignored her abused nerves as best she could and put some distance between herself and her former captors. By will power alone she managed to stand straight and not collapse back onto the ground.

Nate motioned to one of the bandits in the crowd. "Her possessions, give them back."

The bandit holding said items did as he was told and tossed them in her general direction. They landed in the gravel by her feet but she made no move to retrieve anything yet.

Their leader raised one arm and pointed to the area some ten yards behind her. "See that fork in the canyon path up ahead? Taking the left route will eventually lead you to a waterfall that drains into the Highlands. The one on the right will leave you back in the desert. I don't care which way you go, but in the Highlands you wont run into any of my men as that is Hyperion territory. After you leave here I can't guarantee they wont attack you. Now, shoo." With that he waved her away.

Quickly scooping up her utility belt and pack, she backpedaled a few feet then turned around and sprinted all the way to the canyon's divide. Upon reaching the junction she came to a halt, looking back and forth between the two paths. Left or right; water or none. She was going to encounter hostiles regardless of which option she chose, but adding dehydration to the long list of possible causes of death made the stream so much more appealing. She was careful not to make too many splashing noises as she stepped over the shallow water and left the stronghold behind.

Dusk was fast approaching, causing the entire canyon to be swathed in shadow. Gaige's attention flitted around to every small movement, every noise. Her own footsteps seemed unbearably loud against the rocky ground, though nothing leaped out to attack her. Gaige convinced herself it was her own anxiety magnifying the sound ten-fold.

When her legs began to wobble like jelly, threatening to buckle with each step she took, Gaige finally stopped to rest. Shuffling over to a small alcove in the canyon wall, she ducked into the space and sat with her knees pulled to her chest.

Gaige kept her eyes on the darkness outside as she unzipped her bag. There was barely any light so she took her time and sorted through each item by touch alone. All of the clothing she'd packed was accounted for, as was her toothbrush, hairbrush and a framed photograph of Gaige standing with her parents. Whatever food supplies her father had given to her were gone, devoured by the bandits.

Her fingers brushed against a familiar shape near the bottom of the pack. The feel of the smooth metal was almost comforting in a way. So much had happened since reaching Pandora that her ECHO cast channel had completely slipped her mind. Even while trapped in the middle of a hellish wasteland there was one part of her life that hadn't been uprooted. Gaige moved her pack to the ground and gently set the device on her lap. Her mind mulled between the temptation of speaking into that recorder once more and the fear that she would get carried away and alert any predators in the area to her presence. Gaige smiled bitterly to herself.

_Screw it. If I die before sunrise at least my family will have one more recording of me. I really need to vent.  
_

Gaige cleared her throat and pressed the button to begin recording, keeping her voice at almost a whisper. "Hello, my... thirty-five thousand subscribers. A lot more than the last time I updated... Hm, I wonder how many of you are bounty hunters. As you may recall, in my previous ECHO cast I was fleeing my home world after the anti-bully robot I designed, called Deathtrap, er... killed one of my classmates. They expelled me from school and planned to send me to prison as well, but I wasn't about to let them get what they wanted." She took a deep breath and continued. "So, here I am on... this planet. Wait, crap, I already said that I was going to Pandora in my other recording, didn't I?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose between her index finger and thumb and sighed. "Dammit, so much for buying myself some time. Well, allow me to explain to those of you who aren't out head hunting. Today it was revealed to me that I am now a wanted woman. That's right. Kicking me out of school and giving me a criminal record wasn't good enough for _some people_. No, they had to call open season on me! Do you know how much my hide is worth? Eight hundred and twenty _billion_. Billion! I guess that I should be flattered, but really, isn't this going overboard? It's not like I turned an entire planet into space dust."

After grumbling under her breath about police states and crony capitalism for a minute or two she continued. "Uh, sorry, went off on a tangent. In any case, I regret to inform you all that this might be my final ECHO cast. I'm filthy, I'm _starving_ and I'm surrounded by monsters, both human and beast. I mean, it doesn't surprise me that this place is a little rough, but can a girl get a break?"

Taking another deep breath she leaned her head back against the cliff wall and shut her eyes. "Man, I could really go for some hot coco right now. I have no idea where I'll be in the next few hours, but you'll hear from me again if I manage to get through this alive."

Unwilling to disclose the details of her encounter with Skag-Bite Nate to her subscribers that left her with nothing else to say except, "Gaige, out."


End file.
